Had this flash over three years and as far as function it is in top three I have ever used in over forty years of photography. I have used several old potato mashers and many autos over the years and functionally this tops almost all of them. As far as quality construction I have never seen worse. The four screws that hold the hot shoe mounting plate go into two metal bars that is four times as thick as the plastic holding the bars in pace. The body casting is very thin in the wrong places and cannot be made better by normal man. Handle it with EXTREEM care as I did but the wrong bump and takes a very little amount of pressure and your flash will separate from the mount forever.

20 of 21 people found this review helpful.

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Review 2 for Speedlite 430EX

Nickname: Stephen

Location: Ocala, FL

Used this product for: 3 to 6 months

Expertise Level: Hobbyist/Enthusiast

Product replacement: No

Get the 430 EX 2

Overall Rating

3out of5

Features

4out of5

Performance

4out of5

Price/Value

3out of5

Quality

1out of5

Satisfaction

3out of5

Date:March 28, 2009

Pros: Fast recycling time, Good Exposure performance, quiet

Cons: Poor build quality

I bought the 430 EX I, after a week, the hotshoe cracked. Don't waste your money on this. Instead spend a few more dollars and get the 430 EX 2 with a metal hotshoe.

A nice size unit with a very good range. slave capability is nice however, I wish canon would use a radio style trigger system rather than IR. Works pretty good in E-TTL although you can still get over or under exposure at times. It is a well built solid flash that is compatible with all of canons E-TTL/TTLII models.

This is a great buy. With very fast recycle time and awesome exposure this is the flash to buy for the semi-pro & amature photographer. I use the canon xsi and I will not even think about taking a picture without this flash.